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Multiple choice

Which social group wins the prize for the UK's highest fertility rates? Scott Athorne reports

In the UK, a woman's cultural background will have a much greater bearing on the number of children she has than her economic or social circumstances. The largest families in Britain are in ethnic-minority groups, growing some 15 times faster than the white population.

Sixty per cent of families who classify their ethnic group as Bangladeshi, for example, have three or more children. The figure for Pakistani is 54%; Indian, 30%; Chinese, 24%; Caribbean, 22%; and just 19% for white. Given that the real cost of buying a home in the UK has trebled since 1970, and the cost of raising a child has risen dramatically, how have Bangladeshi men and women, with the highest unemployment rates in the UK (20% and 24% respectively), achieved the UK's highest fertility rates? Probably because three-quarters of them are in couples by the age of 25, most marry, few divorce, and the women